1Who’s Paying the Rising Cost of Special Education?1

• From 1988-89 to 1998-99, special education enrollments grew about twice as fast as those of all students (33 % versus 15 % growth). Special education costs per student also appear to be rising. • Combined federal, state, and local spending on special education is rising an estimated $3 billion per year (including inflation). The unprecedented $1.4 billion increase in federal special education aid allocated for Fiscal Year 2000 is well short of these rapidly rising costs. • Although rising special education costs are a legitimate concern, the evidence does not show a deleterious fiscal effect on general education. Over the past 15 years, general education spending has risen by an estimated 69%. • Over a five-year span beginning with the 1993-94 year, the state share of special education funding decreased (55 % to 47%), and the burden on local funding sources increased (39 % to 45%). • The majority of new special education enrollments come from students in less severe categories of disability. State and local general and special educators will need to work together to increase the capacity of general education to accommodate a higher degree of learning diversity if special education expansion is to be brought under greater control. Questions about rising special education costs and their impact on general education are 1 Research for this paper was supported through funding from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)